The thrills and spills on and off the pitch have turned this series into one of the Sky One's flagship shows, and it promises to get bigger and better when the new 26-part series kicks off. The show ended on a cliffhanger last series with Didier Baptiste poised to take a last-minute penalty shot, which would decide if Harchester United would retain their Premiership status or be relegated to the first division.
The lads from Harchester have broad appeal, not least the team's rock-like Cockney-Italian midfielder, Eddie Moliano, played by Ed Sanders. The 25-year-old Londoner, a six-foot former model, has proved himself an extremely popular cast member, receiving countless proposals from his female fans. 'I'm so flattered,' he smiles. 'I never dreamed my life could be as good as this. It's something I didn't expect.' The meteoric success he's enjoyed in the last couple of years could have turned many young stars into ego maniacs, but thankfully it has left Ed untouched. A few years ago he was working in a builder's yard as a chippy, but gave it up and eventually pursued a career in television after being spotted by a model scout. 'I always enjoyed drama and thought it could be a good life, but drama was never an option [at] high school, and I decided to be a carpenter. 'But after a few years of working I'd find myself in tears on a Monday morning, thinking, "Why am I doing this?"' Ed took a year off from building but made little money, working in bars to supplement his income: 'I wasn't trained, so when stuff went wrong I turned to my close friends and family.' Steely determination spurred him on, and after a brief stint as a model he eventually landed his first TV job, on the travel game show Flying Start.
His weeks are now spent filming at Millwall's ground, the Den, for Dream Team and presenting the ITV late-night student dating show Dial a Date. Even he admits frankly that he is amazed at how his gamble paid off. But the price is working flat out – six days a week – as well as putting time into Spunge, the TV production company he recently set up with several others. He has poured some of his earnings into a stunning top-floor flat in Streatham Common, south west London. He used to live in a flat with a group of male friends, projecting a single-man-about-town image and declaring he was too focused on work for a love life. Ed comes clean, however, and tells me that he is actually engaged – and the nuptials are next month in America. The lucky woman is a 28-year-old make-up artist, Gioia Gagliano, an Italian-American he met three years ago on a holiday in Miami. Isn't he quite young to be settling down? He shakes his head: 'If you meet someone you want to be with, you want to be with them. I know she's the one.'
In between trips to Miami and planning his wedding, Ed has thrown himself into the new series of Dream Team and admits he is much fitter, thanks to intensive weekly sessions to make his on-screen soccer skills look more authentic. Although he insists he is an armchair football fan – he supports Arsenal and Wimbledon – Ed's impressive six-pack shows he is no slouch. Even so, he acknowledges he was physically unprepared for the role: 'I never used to run or go to the gym – I'd be out with the lads and have a few jars. But I do exercise now. In the first week of training I was dreadful – I nearly collapsed.' Ed says he is clueless about what's in store in the new series, as storylines are kept strictly under wraps, but he has been told there will be a new romance for him. 'My agent asked if it was possible to have more storylines because I was enjoying it so much,' he says. 'We all get on brilliantly on the show – everyone is such a laugh.'
Ed also claims to recognise similarities in personality between him and his character: 'Eddie is so easy to play because he's just like me, except a lot louder. But I don't think I'm as arrogant or as sexist as he is and I'd like to think I'm brighter than him!' The fact that he has the same first name as his screen character put him in an embarrassing position recently: 'The first time I was recognised in the street from Dream Team, someone shouted out, "Eddie!" I thought it was someone I knew and went over and had a chat with him as if he was a mate. 'He was looking at me strange. It was only when I was walking off I realised I'd never met him before in my life!'
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